Sources for "beverage quality" wood...

[bopgun23]

Hiya folks,

We're seeking various types of wood other than oak for some beer aging. Cedar, maple, apple, hickory, the list goes on...

But we're having trouble sourcing something that we're confident isn't chemically treated. It's easy enough to find incense or smoker quality woods, but those are definitely not rated for "internal use".

Any thoughts?

[liammckenna]

Check it out.

Of particular interest to me are the vinegar barrels. I would love to try a kind of 'Balsamic' beer/wort vinegar. Need a battery of different woods.

Pax.

Liam

[gray31]

wood

Any wood that you could use for smoking can be used for beer flavoring. I would advise against any kind of evergreen such as the afore mentioned cedar, as they contain chemicals that are harmful if consumed. If you are going to use any kind of wood for flavoring your beer just take the same time and care you would for sanitation and cleanliness at any other stage of your brewing. Try experimenting with smoking chips, just rinse them and soak in a mild sanitizer.

[Noble31]

Country Malt Group carries the Black Swan honeycombs in woods other than just oak.

Chris

Red Crow Brewing Company

[Natrat]

How about a tree? I find them to be an excellent source of wood.

Nat

[RustyTruck]

I can second the Country Malt Group's Black Swan suggestion. They have all types of wood to choose from, and they can cut their honeycombs to whatever size you need.

[burlybeer]

Any wood that you could use for smoking can be used for beer

The "Cedar" that some folks use is called "Spanish Cedar" which is neither cedar nor spanish. I bought a 10' plank at a specialty wood shop and spent an hour or so cutting it into strips on my table saw (making sure to make sure all sides get trimmed) Then 1" blocks using a miter saw...wear a dust mask. I made that mistake and couldn't taste anything but cedar for a couple of days. I didn't santitize, no issues